Prudential PLC Sells 29 Shares of KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Prudential PLC lowered its position in KLA Co. (NASDAQ:KLAC) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,862 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 29 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in KLA were worth $5,584,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in KLA during the fourth quarter worth $1,951,000. World Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of KLA by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 820 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of KLA by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 19,599 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $12,350,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,239 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,041,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in KLA by 94.1% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 8,763 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,553,000 after buying an additional 4,248 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 7,008 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $724.62, for a total transaction of $5,078,136.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 28,798 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,867,606.76. This represents a 19.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KLAC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of KLA from $800.00 to $830.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on KLA from $800.00 to $875.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on KLA from $700.00 to $760.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on KLA from $795.00 to $870.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of KLA from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $748.00 to $870.00 in a report on Monday, March 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $832.17.

KLA Trading Down 7.1 %

KLA stock opened at $576.53 on Friday. KLA Co. has a one year low of $559.76 and a one year high of $896.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $716.60 and its 200 day moving average is $699.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.61 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.63.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The semiconductor company reported $8.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.73 by $0.47. KLA had a net margin of 29.58% and a return on equity of 108.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that KLA Co. will post 31.59 EPS for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.70 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $6.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.60%.

About KLA

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.